The MPAA and “Historical Smoking”

The MPAA has rated MONUMENTS MEN PG-13 for war violence and “historical smoking.”

Historical smoking?

This is your MPAA at work. It won’t protect children from the violent images and horribly violent situations that you find in big-money summer blockbusters. No, they all get a PG-13.

But it will protect itself from getting criticized by anti-smoking groups, so it comes up with this bit of silliness.

I thought “historical smoking” might refer to something like the above — or maybe to Dietrich in SHANGHAI EXPRESS. But no, it’s a catch-all to explain why people are smoking in a World War II movie. You know, that’s just how it was back then.